Mission College Academic Senate
Ext.
5413
Approved Minutes
Thursday,
February 10, 2005
I. Call
to Order/Roll Call
The
meeting was called to order by President Alex Braun at 2:10 p.m.
|
Senators |
A |
P |
Senators |
A |
P |
|
Braun (Ext. 5355) Pres/Tech |
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X |
Martin (Ext. 5356) Tech. |
X |
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Brichko (Ext. 5222) CATA |
|
X |
McKay (Ext. 5312) Comm |
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X |
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Cogswell (Ext. 5388) AAS |
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X |
Musat (Ext. 5331) Math |
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X |
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Cox (Ext.5164) CommSvc |
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X |
Ostrander (Ext. 5274) Stud Dev. |
|
X |
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Dooley (Ext. 5379) AAS |
X |
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Perlas (Ext. 5041) Stud.Dev. |
|
X |
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Harris (Ext. 5413) AF/Comm |
|
X |
Rath (Ext. 5413) AF/CIT |
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X |
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Kashima (Ext. 5319)
ESL |
|
X |
Smebye
(Ext. 5305) CommServ |
|
X |
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Laird (Ext. 5186) SocSci |
X |
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Szabados
(Ext.5289) CATA |
X |
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Lavallo (Ext. 5399) Math |
|
X |
Zeisler (Ext. 5426) Comm |
|
X |
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|
|
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Raczkowski (ASB Rep.) |
|
X |
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Guests: S.Bersola, F.Chong, E.Estrada, P.Hudak, M.Jahan, |
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X
X |
Guests:
J.Dedinsky, C.Hasson, R.Ledesma, H.Robles |
|
X
X |
II. Approval
of the Minutes
The
minutes for the meeting of December 16, 2004, were accepted and approved as
submitted (M/S/
Smebye/Harris). Senator Cox
had advised that there was a correction regarding an information item. Since she was absent from today’s
meeting, that correction will be made at a future Senate meeting.
III. Order of the Agenda
Senator
Rath requested that discussion on Item VIII.A be postponed to next week as he
had to leave today’s meeting early.
Alex stated that he felt it necessary that this item be discussed today
since there is a decision pending to remove this position from the faculty
hiring list, and the Senators need to consider the rationale for this decision.
Senator Rath agreed to review the minutes relative to the discussion and bring
up any concerns he might have at next week’s meeting.
The
Senators agreed (M/S/U – Braun/Raczkowski) to request that the order of
the agenda be changed to accommodate guests and that Item VIII.B immediately
follow Oral Reports.
IV. Oral Communication from
the Public
There
was no oral communication from the public at today's meeting.
V. Information
& Announcements
1.
Senator McKay reported that the Title V grant is proceeding. A call for faculty to serve on a
Participatory and Advisory Committee will be issued by the Senate in the near
future. She will be making an in
depth report to the Senate at a future meeting. The grant provides $2.7 million to the college over the next
five years and encompasses three basic goals:
a) outreach to Hispanics and other
under-represented groups;
b)
work on SLOs, learning communities, improving instruction and pedagogy to
assist students to be more successful and increase retention, and
c) to make the college more welcome to
Hispanics and other under-represented groups by creating a welcome center.
2. The
Spring Plenary Session for the Academic Senate for California Community
Colleges will be held in San Francisco from April 7-9, 2005. The Senate has enough funding to
register four additional senate members.
Alex stated that he plans to attend and encouraged Senator McKay and any
other interested Senators to attend.
If anyone is interested, please contact Grace at the Senate Office (Ext.
5413).
3. President
Braun advised the Senators that the paper work for Jonathan Brennan as the MCAS
nominee for the Regina Standback-Stroud Award has been submitted to the state
Academic Senate.
4. President Braun advised that Senator
Cogswell is a certified member of the National Association of Parliamentarians.
Critical points in Robert’s Rules of Order have been distributed to each
senator since the MCAS is governed by Robert’s Rules and will be useful
when dealing with difficult issues that require a certain degree of order. A workshop may be held at a future
meeting.
5. President Chong welcomed all back
for the Spring semester. He
expressed his excitement about Spring and the building projects. The President noted that the mid-term
Accreditation Report was accepted favorably, and he acknowledged his need to
work closely with the Academic Senate.
VI. Administrative
Business/Actions/Appointments
A. Curriculum
Committee - Dianne
reported that the Curriculum Committee held its first meeting on Monday, and an
e-mail with details on the time line for submitting curriculum proposals for
Spring 2006. The last day to electronically submit curriculum changes to
Technical Review Chair Betty Ensminger is March 7, 2005. Prior to this date, you should have
discussed your new curriculum (and/or revisions) with your department,
department chair, division and CRC representative. The committee will meet on April 11, 2005, to approve
curriculum proposals to be submitted to the Board of Trustees on May 19, 2005.
B. Committee
Appointments
1. Consider Ratification of Faculty
Appointment to Hiring Committee that
will oversee Bond Projects to
Select Project Manager and Project Leader to Oversee Bond Projects – Alex corrected the
heading on this item and explained that this item is to appoint a faculty
member to the Hiring Committee that will select a Project Manager and Project
Leader to oversee the Bond projects.
President Chong has requested that the Academic Senate approve the
selection of Jim Burrell to serve on this committee. Jim is well qualified as he has served as the Chair of the
Facilities and Safety Committee for years and he was involved in the
construction of the Science Building.
Alex asked the Senators for direction, and a motion to appoint Jim
Burrell to this committee was passed unanimously (M/S/U –
Cogswell/Harris).
2. Hiring Committee for MC Research Analyst – Alex reported that Steve Dinger who was
appointed to this committee by the Academic Senate will not be able to participate. Steve has suggested that Judie DelFrate
be appointed as his substitute.
Alex asked for direction, and the Senators agreed unanimously to appoint
Judie as Steve’s replacement (M/S/U – Smebye/Harris) on this
committee.
C. Oral Reports
1. Staff Development - No
report was presented at today’s meeting.
2. Report from ACE President on ACE &
Code of Conduct – Pat Andrews
was unable to attend today’s meeting and this report is postponed to the
March 3, 2005, Senate meeting.
3. Other – No other reports were presented.
As agreed, the
order of the agenda was suspended and moved to Item VIII.B.
VIII. New Business
B. Update
Report on Student Equity Plan
Sam
Bersola, Cathy Hasson, and Rosalie Ledesma made a presentation on the update of
the Student Equity Plan as
required by the state. It was explained that the state requires that the
plan consider enrollment trends relative to gender, ethnicity, and DSPS.
A
document was provided to each Senator listing the major goals of the plan, the
activities to achieve those goals, the responsible parties for each goal, the
schedule and process for each goal, and the measures that will be used to
determine the results.
The
plan lists the following major goals:
1) Access, 2) Retention, 3) ESL/Basic Skills Completion, 4) Degree and Certificate
Completion, and 5) Transfer.
Statistics on each of the issues were presented as well as the
anticipated goal. Of particular
notice was a significant discrepancy between female and male students in the
ESL and Basic Skills completion component. These issues raised concern as to why this occurs and
whether or not it is a function of age.
Research, however, has indicated that there is no marked difference in
age between female and male students. The statistics also indicate that female
students are receiving more awards than males and this resulted in establishing
goals to increase the number of awards for all students.
The
floor was opened to questions and discussion after the presentation, covering
such topics as how benchmarks are determined, the number of units required for
transfer, and the award of passive degrees to students that qualify for
same. The ultimate goal is to
increase student success and retention and to increase the transfer rates of MC
students to the CSU and UC systems.
A
motion to approve the Student Equity Plan as presented was passed unanimously
(M/S/U – Cogswell/Harris), and the Senators expressed their appreciation
for the excellent presentation and report - a job well done.
The
order of the agenda was resumed.
VII. Old Business
A. Update Report on BAM Subcommittee & District
Budget 05/06
President
Braun distributed a graph of the Allocation Model dealing with Fund 100 and
Fund 101. He reported that the Budget Allocation Model (BAM) Subcommittee met
for all day sessions on January 11th and January 25th. The intent of the meetings was to gain
a conceptual understanding of the current system. The Senators reviewed the graph with Alex. He explained that
the Mandatory Benefits for full-time employees and associate faculty do not
include the medical benefits, and do include life insurance, leaves and
retirements. The district pays a
significant amount to STRS. This
is currently an issue of controversy in the Governor’s proposed
budget. The Governor wants to
reduce the amount paid by the state and pass the cost on to individual STRS
retirement accounts.
The
medical benefits for full-time employees and retirees is another issue of
concern. The district currently
has a fund of $5.5 million. The
actuaries, however, calculate that the actual amount needed throughout the term
of all retirees is equal to $90 million.
The Board of Trustees has been paying retiree medical benefits on a
“pay as you go” basis.
A few years ago, a substantial amount of money was set aside to offset
the shortage. The intent was to
have those funds invested so they would grow to meet its obligations over the
amortized period. Those
funds were diverted to other areas, and although it will be difficult to trace,
it is anticipated that research will determine how those funds were spent.
For
the purposes of this policy, “fixed costs” refers to variable
mandatory costs rather than discretionary funds. They fall into three categories:
1) Contractual obligations such as
academic column advance, PG&D, sabbaticals, ACE release time, medical
costs, tenure, travel and conference
2) Mandated Costs – such as
environment regulation requirements such as hazardous materials, peace
officers’ training, federal aid match
3) Essential – such as County
payroll processing fee of $98,000/year for service provided, legal expert at
$300,000/year, advertising for HR, Nortel maintenance, etc.
Alex
explained that after all the above items are paid the remaining amount is split
between central services and the two colleges. The subcommittee is at the point of discussing how the funds
are allocated between the three entities.
There is discussion relative to the fact that central operations
receives their allocation before the colleges and there is some question as to
what percentage, (figures vary from 18% to 35%) is received relative to the two
colleges. This figure needs to be
clarified. It is anticipated that
the committee will obtain details in order to assess how to proceed.
During
discussion, it was noted that this BAM subcommittee is the third iteration of a
BAM review committee. A consultant
was hired for one and a half years during the last review. The previous committee made a number of
recommendations on the model and only one recommendation was implemented. It was stated that the people who bring
revenue into the district are the faculty, the students, and staff. Faculty is held to a productivity ratio
(560 to 1 WSCHFTE), which must be met, and which faculty meets year after
year. The last committee
determined that there should be productivity measures for everyone else. How do we know that other needs are
required without a benchmark?
There are industry standard benchmarks/models that can be used. It is
important to have the mindset that Central Services is not a third
college. Central Services exists
only to serve the colleges. Alex asked that he be provided with the information
from the previous committee to take to the current committee.
Alex
agreed to keep the Academic Senate apprised of this subcommittee’s
progress.
VIII. New Business
A. Consider Administration’s Proposal Not to Fill CIT
Faculty Position
The
Senators were provided with a copy of a letter, dated February 3, 2005, from
President Chong to Alex as the President of the Academic Senate. The subject of the letter deals with
the decision to withdraw the CIT position from the list of new faculty hires
for 2005/06. Alex explained that
the primary rationale for this decision was a decline in enrollment in the
program, which could put the college in the position of having to find a full
load for a new faculty member.
Alex recognized that from a business perspective, this is a proper business
decision. On the other hand, the
college has a program that exists and a study needs to be conducted to
determine if the program should continue.
Statistics show a decline in the market. However, the program could be built through marketing. Alex asked for direction.
Discussion
ensued and Harriett advised that this is a larger issue than the program at
Mission College. The valley is
going through a shift and the future is unknown. She has requested that the effected departments conduct a
needs assessment of student goals and submit them to her by the end of this
week. They were also asked to
contact employers in the area to determine where jobs are available in their
fields and to contact their counterparts at other colleges to find out the status
of their programs. She has
scheduled a meeting for March 3rd to review the information
obtained.
Harriett
requested that the Academic Senate place its Review of the Technology Task
Force Report on its agenda for this semester. There is a larger issue involved and there is not enough
information available to make a million dollar investment by hiring a faculty
member for this program. Two full
time faculty members have had to be reassigned to related fields. There are a number of sections with
zero students and others with low enrollments. If one looks at the numbers, one necessarily questions moving
forward with the position.
Discussion
ensued, and it was stated that it appears then that the decision would be a
temporary decision based on information to come. Others read the letter as the decision has been made. A senator spoke in support of hiring a
full-time person. Mission College
is supposed to be the Technology College and cited many reasons for maintaining
the program, including the fact that the college has a partnership with Cisco,
a company that has certified the college and donated considerable money in the
past. What is needed is a
full-time person with support from the administration and the appropriate
marketing to enhance the program.
Given the location of the college, the college owes it to the community
to offer technology courses. Mina
agreed that the need for technology support will not disappear. She noted, however, that all community
colleges have lost enrollment in high tech courses. A department has to have ownership and CIT has not had
ownership for some time. The
department has been run by associate faculty and the full-time faculty in the
department never had a full load in CIT.
She stated her agreement with President Chong’s decision. If the college commits to hiring a
full-time faculty member, it will put the college in a difficult position to
provide a full load for that person.
As
discussion continued, Harriett stated that it is fair to say that the president
intends to withdraw the position now and whether or not to consider hiring a
temporary faculty member depends on the information obtained. Harriett advised there are limited
resources, and CIT is not the only department with low enrollment. There are huge demands in other
areas that cannot be met.
There
was some indication that the Senate wanted the decision to be postponed. At the very least, Harriett was asked
to convey to the president that the senate requests that the decision be
postponed until the information requested is available and to convey those
findings to the Academic Senate to consider its recommendation.
C. Discuss Senate’s Role re: Academic Directions
Relative to New Facilities
Alex
asked the Senators to consider the role of the Academic Senate in how to manage
the process of acquiring input quickly from the effected constituents (faculty)
regarding decisions contemplated relative to facilities. In order to fill its
charge, the Academic Senate must necessarily be involved and make decisions
quickly. Any delays in decisions
are costly to the district.
It
was recommended that Jim Burrell be asked to report to the Academic Senate on a
regular basis and to serve on the committee as the representative of the
Academic Senate. It was also
understood that the architect was to meet with individual departments. It was suggested that Jim be asked to
ensure that a list of departments visited be kept and that he assist in moving
those visits forward.
Alex
asked the Senators to reflect on how to implement the role of the Academic
Senate, and this matter will be discussed at next week’s meeting.
X. Correspondence,
Publications, & Announcements
Correspondence
Publication/Minutes
1. The
agenda for the February 9, 2005, meeting of the District Council.
2. The January 31, 2005, issue of FA
NEWS from the Foothill-DeAnza
Faculty Association.
3. The agenda for the February 9,
2005, meeting of GAP, and the summary notes for the November 24th
and December 8th meetings.
4. The approved minutes for the
December 8, 2004, and January 19, 2005, and the agenda for the February 2, 2005, meeting of DBAC.
5. The agendas for the December 16th,
January 4th, and February 3, 2005, meeting of the Board of Trustees.
6. The agenda for the January 20,
2005, meeting of the MWV Land Corporation.
7. The following publications were
received from the Academic Senate for CCCs and are available in the MC Academic
Senate Office:
a) The Resolutions Adopted at the Fall
2004 Plenary Session
b) Disciplines List Review Process
c) What’s Wrong With Student
Fees? Renewing the Commitment to
No-Fee, Open Access
d) Issues in Basic Skills Assessment &
Placement in the California Community Colleges.
e) The
2002 Accreditation Standards: Implementation
Announcements/Conferences
1. The
Spring Plenary Session of the Academic Senate for CCCs will be held in San
Francisco, April 7-9, 2005. Anyone
interested in attending should contact the MC Academic Senate Office (Ext.
5413).
XI. Future
Agenda Items
1. Consider
Tenure Credit for Temporary Faculty Hired as Permanent Faculty (Kashima)
XII. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m. (M/S/U – McKay/Perlas). These minutes are respectfully submitted by Grace Hazán, Academic Senate Secretary.